Apparently Controversial: Sticking up for Tomorrow

I had initially hoped to keep my Big Society posts on the positive end of the political spectrum. Unfortunately there is a wide dearth between it’s high ideals and the complete and utter self-absorption espoused by vast swathes of the media and public at large. This is a post about why this self-absorption is wrong and who is at fault.

The end of the last World War marked the dawn of a generation who had high hopes for the future, scant respect for the old guard and inside whom a kind of perpetual cultural revolution was embellished. Embellished but not realised that is – for instead of enlightenment we got the welfare state – a raging Juggernaut that has for years systemically stripped the revolutionary zeal and replaced it with a deep rooted sense that government owed society a living. The unprecedented rise in living standards since the war cemented such feelings, fostering a sense of entitlement while the healthy questioning of old methods has morphed into a disdain for any call to collective responsibility.

The result is a disconnect between the current standard of living and our true worth as individuals. The only way to pay for this disconnect is to borrow from the future.

As someone who hopefully has most of his life left to live, I would like to flick a massive V sign to all those idiots whinging/protesting/rioting about their dear little government subsidies and payments.